Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Open Library
American Libraries
TV News
Understanding 9/11The Myth Of the Holy Cow
Bookreader Item Preview
Share or Embed This Item
The Myth Of The Holy Cow presents D. N. Jha’s research on the prevalence of beef-eating practices in ancient India, shattering the perception of sanctity that has been associated with the cow in India.
Summary Of The Book
The cow has long been considered a symbol of the religion of Hinduism, and therefore of holiness, in India. Killing this animal, let alone eating it, would be sacrilegious for Hindus. The general perception among Hindus is that the slaughtering of cows for food began with the Muslim conquests in India.
But according to the author’s research, killing cows for meat was a prevalent practice in ancient India.
In The Myth Of The Holy Cow, the author reveals that in ancient times, Hindus and Buddhists ate beef. According to him, the cow earned its status as the holy animal of Hinduism only in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The book states that hindus regularly used cows both as part of dietary traditions and as offerings to God.
This edition of the book was published in 2009 by Navayana. With its sensitive content and the religious sentiment involved, it garnered much controversy both before and after its publication.
About D. N. Jha
D. N. Jha is an Indian historian. He specializes in the history of ancient and medieval India.
His written works include Early India: A Concise History, Ancient India: In Historical Outline, Society And Ideology In India, Economy And Society In Early India: Issues And Paradigms, and Holy Cow: Beef in Indian Dietary Traditions.
D. N. Jha or Dwijendra Narayan Jha graduated with a BA (Hons) in History from Presidency College of the University of Calcutta. He then earned an MA in History from Patna University. He was a member of the Indian Council of Historical Research. He also taught History at the Delhi University.
- Addeddate
- 2015-11-11 02:57:49
- Identifier
- TheMythOfHolyCowJha
- Identifier-ark
- ark:/13960/t8sb7th97
- Ocr
- ABBYY FineReader 11.0
- Ppi
- 300
- Scanner
- Internet Archive HTML5 Uploader 1.6.3
comment
Reviews
(2)
Subject: I like this
Subject: Myth of holy cows, 5amezing facts. https://youtu.be/IlLuVsJ7gpo
Here 5 Shocking facts about the Holy Cow.
Lord Krishna, one of the most well known of the Hindu deities is often depicted playing his flute amongst cows and dancing Gopis (milkmaids). He grew up as a cow herder. Krishna also goes by the names Govinda and Gopala, which literally mean “friend and protector of cows.” It is considered highly auspicious for a true devotee to feed a cow, even before eating breakfast oneself.
Throughout the Vedic scriptures there are verses which emphasize that the cow must be protected and cared for. It is considered a sin to kill a cow and eat its meat. Even today in India, there are many states in which the slaughter of cows is illegal. That is why you can find cows roaming freely all over India, even along the busy streets of Delhi and Mumbai.
Ayurveda is a big proponent of the sattvic qualities of milk and dairy products. That is why most Hindus are vegetarian, but not vegan. Fresh, organic milk, yogurt, buttermilk, paneer (homemade cheese) and ghee, are all considered highly nutritious, and an important part of the diet. Not only do these dairy products provide important protein and calcium for our tissues, but are sources of Ojas,which gives our body strength and immunity.
Besides their milk, cows also provide many practical purposes, and are considered a real blessing to the rural community. On the farm, bulls are used to plough the fields and as a means of transportation of goods. Even Lord Shiva’s trusted vehicle is Nandi– the sacred bull.
